1995 – 2020.

25 years since Juxtaposition Arts’ inception, the name still embodies our ethos: core strategies juxtaposed to create a vibrant and sustainable whole. Art & economics; individual development through collaborative work; young artists employed and their professional counterparts. And now, JXTA is poised to become the foremost arts organization in North Minneapolis, with a permanent and essential legacy.

On our 25th anniversary, we reflect on successes and lessons learned and look ahead with clear eyes and a set intention. When JXTA was founded in 1995, DeAnna and Roger Cummings’ focus was on the immediate future: building access to the arts for talented young people in North Minneapolis. Now, 25 years of work gives us a basis for what we want the future to look like. That future includes a capital campaign, a brand-new building, continued programming, more students through our doors, and, ultimately, an established cultural legacy in North Minneapolis.

Today, in the first days of our fiscal year 2020, we want to share with you our vision and our new logo, created to celebrate this quarter-century milestone. Designed by our Graphic Design Lab, our 25th-anniversary logo embodies the JXTA ethos we’ve cultivated over the last 25 years: it’s dynamic, bright, and stays true to our roots. Ready to tackle any challenge, and nimble enough to keep up.

Over the next few months, keep an eye out for updates around celebrations, announcements, projects, and other 25th anniversary happenings. And for now, mark January 1–December 31, 2020, in your calendars as the 25th year of JXTA, launching us into the next 25 and beyond.

We’re going to celebrate, and we hope you will join us.

#NorthsideSince95

U.S. Bank recently gifted JXTA a $50,000 Community Possible grant to help fund the inaugural programming season of our new skate-able art plaza. The grant is part of U.S. Bank’s new annual $1 million fund focused on organizations driving economic development across the country in the areas of workforce preparation, affordable housing and arts and culture.

To celebrate this gift, we’re hosting a day of art-making, activities, and acknowledgements during Open Streets West Broadway on Saturday, September 14! Join us for skateboarding demonstrations, performances, refreshments, JXTA retail for sale, art-making, a game booth, and a meet-and-greet with Timberwolves mascot Crunch. A brief presentation will occur at approximately 1:00 p.m.

The 2019 season of skate-able art plaza activities is made possible with support from the U.S. Bank Market Impact Fund.

JXTA will use the funds to provide programming for the new skate-able art plaza in partnership with the West Broadway Business & Area Coalition and City of Skate. Through the new annual Market Impact Fund, U.S. Bank invests $50,000 grants to 20 nonprofit organizations across the country. The new Fund is in addition to U.S. Bank’s Community Possible giving platform focused on grant cycles in the areas of Work, Home and Play.

Learn more about U.S. Bank’s social responsibility work here: www.usbank.com/csr2018 or www.usbank.com/community.

1995 – 2020.

25 years since Juxtaposition Arts’ inception, the name still embodies our ethos: core strategies juxtaposed to create a vibrant and sustainable whole. Art & economics; individual development through collaborative work; young artists employed and their professional counterparts. And now, JXTA is poised to become the foremost arts organization in North Minneapolis, with a permanent and essential legacy.

On our 25th anniversary, we reflect on successes and lessons learned and look ahead with clear eyes and a set intention. When JXTA was founded in 1995, DeAnna and Roger Cummings’ focus was on the immediate future: building access to the arts for talented young people in North Minneapolis. Now, 25 years of work gives us a basis for what we want the future to look like. That future includes a capital campaign, a brand-new building, continued programming, more students through our doors, and, ultimately, an established cultural legacy in North Minneapolis.

Today, in the first days of our fiscal year 2020, we want to share with you our vision and our new logo, created to celebrate this quarter-century milestone. Designed by our Graphic Design Lab, our 25th-anniversary logo embodies the JXTA ethos we’ve cultivated over the last 25 years: it’s dynamic, bright, and stays true to our roots. Ready to tackle any challenge, and nimble enough to keep up.

Over the next few months, keep an eye out for updates around celebrations, announcements, projects, and other 25th anniversary happenings. And for now, mark January 1–December 31, 2020, in your calendars as the 25th year of JXTA, launching us into the next 25 and beyond.

We’re going to celebrate, and we hope you will join us.

#NorthsideSince95

Luminous Current, a large-scale light-based installation designed by JXTA’s Environmental Design Lab, is now a permanent fixture at the Guthrie Theater’s Pohlad Lobby on the ninth floor.

“I think it’s exciting to have North Minneapolis youth be able to create an intervention in a space that was not necessarily created for them. It’s a coup – something that can not only go in your portfolio, but it also says, ‘this is part of the genius of North Minneapolis and youth,’” says Roger Cummings, JXTA Co-Founder and Chief Cultural Producer about the project.

In 2018, Guthrie Theater received an Arts Access grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board with the intention of fostering relationships between the theater and nonprofit organizations in North Minneapolis. So, the Guthrie commissioned JXTA to produce a work of art that was influenced by the theater’s physical location and surroundings; specifically, the Mississippi River.

Luminous Current fully installed at the Guthrie Theater. Photo by Adja Gildersleve.

Youth apprentices, teaching designers, and JXTA creative director Roger Cummings worked with the Guthrie to develop a work of art to complement the interior and exterior of the building, which was designed by architect Jean Nouvel. Luminous Current’s undulating form and colors mirror the neighboring Mississippi River, and the geometric shapes created and cast in blue light along the installation’s surrounding walls are reminiscent of the architecture of the neighborhood.

Designed over a period of two months, fabricated in collaboration with our partners Solid Metal Arts in three weeks, and installed on May 10, 2019, Luminous Current is now on view to the public and all visitors of the Guthrie Theater.

“The creative genius of North Minneapolis and youth”

Though the JXTA ethos promotes a collaborative approach to all of our work, two apprentices, Temesgen Besha and D’Angelo Raymond, assumed leadership roles in this project. Besha, age 20, immigrated from Ethiopia, attended Wellstone HS, and currently works at MSP airport in the summer. He will be starting a Computer Science program at Augsburg University in Fall 2019. Raymond, age 19, immigrated from France, attended North HS, and is currently working at Atomic Data. Both had the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in producing concepts for this piece, working with imagery and ideas presented by the Guthrie.

“We created several prototypes, first out of wood, then out of Styrofoam. Our goal was to play with the transparency of the light. I got to make some Photoshop renderings of the sculpture, and I’m happy with how the final sculpture came out,” says Raymond of his role in the project.

Through this work, D’Angelo and Raymond developed their creative skills, practiced using software and technology to develop their vision, and can now add this high-profile piece to their portfolios. Says Besha: “I’m proud to [have participated] in this project, from start to end.”

Visitors watch the ‘Luminous Current’ process video at the opening event at the Guthrie. Photo by Riché Effinger.

Building relationships that last

Luminous Current is the result of a long-time relationship with the Guthrie Theater, and will hopefully serve as a jumping-off point for similar projects.

“The most exciting thing [right now] is that there’s a very clear pattern of growth in the relationship between the Guthrie and JXTA…I’m really excited to see all the different ways that the different disciplines that JXTA teaches can be utilized in the Guthrie, and how all the learnings that JXTA has on their turf can be applied to this building and these people, and the very particular conditions that the Guthrie exists within,” says Daisuke Kawachi, the Community Engagement Assistant at the Guthrie.

The work serves as a beacon; a beacon illuminating our relationship to our natural surroundings, and also as one that highlights the creative genius of North Minneapolis youth and other creatives. Thank you to the Guthrie Theater for their partnership and support in this project and beyond.

On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, we celebrated Luminous Current at the Guthrie; if you weren’t able to make it, check out more photos from the event on Flickr or Facebook.

Want a similar piece for your space? Interested in learning more about what JXTA can do? Email hire-us@juxtaposition.org to set up a consultation.

Help us celebrate our Summer 2019 VALT (Visual Art Literacy Training) students! Stop by the JXTA campus on August 21 to see the culmination of work created by young artists during this session. Students have worked on self-portraits, perspective drawing, and other introductory visual art skills. This event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

About VALT:

Our Visual Art Literacy Training program provides a comprehensive hands-on arts education for youth ages 12-21. This cost-free program is a prerequisite for young artists who wish to apply for a paid apprenticeship at JXTA in one of our five creative development studios. Learn more at juxtaposition.org.

$50,000 U.S. Bank fund awarded to Juxtaposition Arts for New Skate Park

Part of New $1 Million Annual Fund Supporting Workforce Development, Arts and Culture and Affordable Housing

Photo courtesy of Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.

U.S. Bank recently gifted Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA) a $50,000 Community Possible grant to help fund the inaugural programming season of its new skate-able art plaza. The grant is part of U.S. Bank’s new annual $1 million fund focused on organizations driving economic development across the country in the areas of workforce preparation, affordable housing and arts and culture.

“We are thrilled to be selected as recipients of U.S. Bank’s first-ever Market Impact Fund to help us launch the first year of programming on our new skate-able art plaza,” said DeAnna Cummings, Juxtaposition Arts CEO and Co-Founder. “Through this programming, we hope to engage our neighborhood with free and accessible events, encourage community co-ownership of this space, and complement our ongoing mission to provide education and employment opportunities to young people in North Minneapolis and the greater Twin Cities.”

To celebrate this gift, JXTA will host a day of art-making, activities, and acknowledgements during Open Streets West Broadway on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. JXTA’s participation in Open Streets 2019 will include skateboarding demonstrations, performances on the skate-able art plaza, refreshments, JXTA retail for sale, art-making, a game booth, and a meet-and-greet with Timberwolves mascot Crunch. A brief presentation will occur at approximately 1:00 p.m.

JXTA will use the funds to provide programming for the new skate-able art plaza in partnership with the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition and City of Skate. Through the new annual Market Impact Fund, U.S. Bank invests $50,000 grants to 20 nonprofit organizations across the country. The new Fund is in addition to U.S. Bank’s Community Possible giving platform focused on grant cycles in the areas of Work, Home and Play.

“Establishing this new Fund allows us to further focus our efforts on supporting those organizations like Juxtaposition Arts, which are working to close historical economic gaps in the areas of greatest need,” said Phillip Trier, Twin Cities Market President for U.S. Bank. “Our communities are stronger when people have jobs, stable housing and when their communities are connected through the arts, recreation and play. Our goal is to give larger grants to create meaningful local impact working with and through market leaders and nonprofit organizations who know their communities the best.”

Learn more about U.S. Bank’s social responsibility work here: www.usbank.com/csr2018 or www.usbank.com/community.

In 2018, through an Arts Access grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Guthrie Theater collaborated with Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA) to develop a work of art for the Guthrie’s Pohlad Lobby.

We invite you to join us for the unveiling of Luminous Current, a light-based art installation on Level Nine at the Guthrie Theater.

This event will include:

Pop-up boutique of artwork by Juxtaposition Arts

Video presentation about the making of Luminous Current

Cash bar

About the work:

In designing Lumninous Current, JXTA’s Environmental Design Lab was influenced by the theater’s physical location and surroundings — in particular, the waters of the Mississippi. JXTA artist apprentices D’Angelo Raymond and Temesgen Besha worked under the guidance of lead designers and architects Niko Kubota and Sam Ero-Phillips and collaborated with others including Minneapolis-based Solid Metal Arts and JXTA Chief Cultural Producer Roger Cummings. Raymond and Besha were inspired by the Guthrie’s unique position between the Mississippi River and downtown Minneapolis and designed the piece to mirror the color and motion of the water and reflect the architecture of the neighborhood.

August 2019 X NORTHSIDE is an expansion of Nancy Musinguzi’s project NORTHSIDE: An Oral History Publication and Installation in collaboration with JXTA apprentices. Youth artists in JXTALabs worked with material from candid conversations and portraits of North Minneapolis youth to create this multi-faceted exhibition.

This August, Juxtaposition Arts presents a special collaborative project and exhibit featuring the work of Minnesota-based visual storyteller Nancy Musinguzi, on view in the JXTA Emerson Gallery from August 1–31, 2019. NORTHSIDE: An Oral History Publication and Installation is a multimedia oral history project featuring candid conversations and portraits of North Minneapolis youth that highlights their approach to using art as a catalyst for community-building and social change. Using their background in ethnographic research, cultural anthropology, and photojournalism, Nancy mapped the intergenerational narrative of Cameron Downey, a JXTA alum and Northside native emerging interdisciplinary “anti-disciplinary” artist through their relationships with friends, family, and peers from the region, and identified and anchored the impact of their perspectives on the North Minneapolis community.

Cameron Downey, Northside native. Photo by Patience Zalanga.

Building on Nancy’s work documenting this oral history of North Minneapolis’ youth, NORTHSIDE was expanded upon through a residency with JXTA apprentices. Youth artists in JXTA’s Contemporary Arts Lab took material from Nancy’s interviews and created portraits in collage to complement the stories, and finally, apprentices in JXTA’s Graphic Design Lab designed a Zine so that visitors and community members can take home a piece of this project. The resulting exhibit, August 2019 X Northside, will be on view in the JXTA Emerson Gallery from August 1–31, 2019.

About the Artist:

Nancy Musinguzi (they/them) is a visual storyteller, teaching artist and freelance photojournalist working and living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a documentary photographer chronicling the contemporary American experience through a first-generation Black Immigrant Queer lens, they primarily focus on emerging musicians, artists, performers, community organizers, educators, and other cultural and creative practitioners from the Black Trans-Atlantic Diaspora. Their artist practice consists of blending traditional and experimental approaches to portraiture that captures the authentic experiences of BIPOC & LGBTQ folks with dignity, attentiveness and patience.

Since 2014, they have installed finished and on-going series in solo and group exhibitions across the nation, and guest-curated gallery shows in collaboration with mid-career and emerging artists, non-profit organizations and foundations, private and public universities, high schools, and grassroots and community organizations. They have also self-published series and collections in 8 photography books, most recently, The Letter Formally Known As Q: an intergenerational portrait of the Queer Immigrant community in Minnesota, in 2018.